Pass-through fishing rod and method of manufacturing same

ABSTRACT

A pass-through fishing rod has a rod body made from resin and reinforcing fibers. The rod body has an inner circumferential surface, wherein concave surface portions and convex surface portions are formed in the inner circumferential surface of the rod body. The reinforcing fibers are applied to the convex surface portions in the circumferential direction.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a pass-through fishing rod in which notchedportions and protrusive portions are formed on the inner circumferentialsurface of a fishing rod body comprising a material made from resin andreinforcing fibers, and to its manufacturing method.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The applicant has already proposed a pass-through fishing rod (JapaneseUtility Application No. 88259/93) where a fishing line extends throughthe hollow center of the fishing rod. The gist of the proposal is theformation of notched/protrusive inner-circumferential surface in thefishing rod material made from resin and reinforcing fibers. By such astructure, a fishing line can be held by the protrusive portions andlifted up from the inner-surface of the fishing rod so that the frictionresistance which is generated by winding and unwinding of the fishingline can be mitigated. If a spiral is stored within the fishing rod andforms protrusive portions as shown in the Japanese Patent ApplicationNo. 304836/89, for example, there is a problem that this spiral couldcome off the inner-surface of the fishing rod when the rod is bentbecause the protrusive portions and the inner-surface are separatethings. In the prior application stated in the Japanese UtilityApplication No. 88259/93, however, the inner-surface of the fishing roditself forms protrusive portions. Therefore, the protrusive portionsshould not come off when the fishing rod is bent.

As mentioned above, though the prior art has already had a basic effectthat the protrusive portions hardly come off the inner-surface of thefishing rod, this structure does not offer sufficient strength for usein a long run as the fishing rod material itself forms protrusiveportions. Therefore, some countermeasure has been needed to solve thisproblem.

SUMMARY OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The objective of this invention is to place reinforcing fibers in orderto further strengthen the aforesaid basic effect.

A characteristic structure offered by this invention is formation of theinner circumferential surface of the fishing rod body, comprising amaterial which is made from resin and reinforcing fibers, in anotched/protrusive shape as well as application of reinforcing fibers tothe protrusive portions in the circumferential direction.

By applying reinforcing fibers to the protrusive portion, the protrusiveportion itself can be reinforced by the fibers. Hence, strength againstcurvature caused by contacts of the line at times of winding andunwinding can be improved.

By this working, abrasion of the protrusive portions can be restrainedeven in use for long periods of time, and stable line-holding functioncan be ensured. Furthermore, as the reinforcing fibers are set in thedirection of the circumference of the fishing rod, the load of the linecan be received by the reinforcing fibers which are placed to cross theline at about a right angle even if the contact point between the lineand a protrusive portion is moved in the circumferential direction.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription. It is to be understood, however, that the detaileddescription and specific examples, while indicating preferredembodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustrationand not limitation. Many changes and modifications within the scope ofthe present invention may be made without departing from the spiritthereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be more readily understood by referring to theaccompanying drawings in which

FIGS. 1(a)-(d) are perspective views to show the first processes in thefishing rod manufacturing processes, in which FIG. 1(a)illustratesapplying the wax; FIG. 1(b)illustrates winding the mold releasing tape;FIG. 1(c) illustrates winding the notched/protrusive forming tape; andFIG. 1(d) illustrates winding the mold releasing tape.

FIGS. 2(a)-(d) are perspective views to show the interim processes inthe fishing rod manufacturing processes, in which FIG. 2(a)shows windingthe prepreg tape of the first layer; FIG. 2(b)shows winding the prepregpattern; FIG. 2(c) shows winding the prepreg tape of the second layer;and FIG. 2(d) shows winding the form-maintaining tape.

FIGS. 3(a)-(c) are perspective views to show the last processes in thefishing rod manufacturing processes, in which FIG. 3(a)illustrateshardening the fishing rod; FIG. 3(b)illustrates peeling off theform-maintaining tape; and FIG. 3(c) illustrates peeling off thenotched/protrusive forming tape.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal side-view to show the cross-sectional structurecorresponding to FIG. 2(d).

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal side-view to show the configuration of thenotched/protrusive surface.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal side-view to show the laminated structure shownin FIG. 4 less the mold releasing tape and the wax.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal side-view to show the cross-section of thefishing rod of 3-layer structure.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal side-view to show a structure of combination ofprepreg in which reinforcing fibers are placed in the axial directionand glass cloth fibers.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal side-view to show the cross-section of theprotrusive portion in a trapezoid.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal side-view to show the configuration of thenotched/protrusive surface formed in tiers.

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal side-view to show a situation in which a lineholder is attached to the notched/protrusive surface.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view to show the 4-layer structure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A preferred embodiment of the present invention affords quick dischargeof water brought into the fishing rod by making flow of the watersmooth. A structure employed for this purpose is that thenotched/protrusive surface in the structure of the inventive fishing rodassumes tiers whose diameter gets smaller as it gets closer to the frontend. Its working and effect are as follows: When the fishing rod isplaced vertically, water brought into the rod runs down thenotched/protrusive inner surface and is collected at either end of therod. The water can be discharged out from the aperture at the front endof the rod or a hole made in order to insert the line from a reel intothe rod. Thanks to this structure, there will be almost no chances forwater attached to the inner-surface of the rod, etc. to touch the line.

Furthermore, as the reinforcing fibers are placed in the circumferentialdirection of the fishing rod, the reinforcing fibers and thenotched/protrusive surface in tiers are positioned in approximately thesame direction. Therefore, the reinforcing fibers conform with theuneven notched/protrusive inner surface of the rod since some of thereinforcing fibers are wound circumferentially around the rod during theconstruction of the rod. Hence, the reinforcing fibers provide strengthand support throughout the rod length, including within the uneven innersurface of the rod, since the reinforcing fibers are disposed within thenotched/protrusive surface portions of the rod. Therefore, thereinforcing fibers can fully exert their reinforcement effect for theprotrusive portions.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, thenotched/protrusive surface in the structure of the inventive fishing rodassumes a spiral whose diameter is reduced as it gets closer to thefront end. Its working and effect are as follows: When the fishing rodis placed vertically, water brought into the fishing rod runs down thecontinuously-helical surface. Therefore, it is easier for water to rundown than in case of the notched/protrusive surface in tiers, hencedischarge of water from the fishing rod is even easier. Also, when thefishing rod is shaken, the water can run along the spiral and bedischarged from the spearhead of the fishing rod.

An additional preferred embodiment of the present invention makesformation of the notched/protrusive inner-surface of the fishing rodcomparatively easy, and offers a device which can mitigate the frictionresistance of the line at times of winding and unwinding of the fishingline. According to this preferred embodiment, the inner circumferentialsurface of the fishing rod body is formed into notched/protrusive shapeby applying a mold releasing agent to a mold core; windingnotched/protrusive forming tape to form the aforesaid notched/protrusivesurface round the outer circumferential surface of the mandrel to whichthe mold releasing agent is applied in the axial direction of themandrel at fixed intervals, thereby forming a mold core; forming afishing rod body by winding a fishing rod material made from resin andreinforcing fibers around the mold core, and winding form-maintainingtape round the outer circumferential surface of the aforementionedfishing rod body; and subsequently hardening the fishing rod body,removing the mandrel, peeling off the form-maintaining tape andreleasing the notched/protrusive forming tape from the fishing rod body.

Its working and effect are as follows: By winding notched/protrusiveforming tape in the axial direction at fixed intervals, forming gapstherebetween, the aforementioned fishing rod material comes into thegaps of the notched/protrusive forming tape during hardening. When thenotched/protrusive forming tape is removed after hardening, thetape-removed portion remains as notched portions and the portion wherethe fishing rod material has come into remains as protrusive portions.Thus, notched/protrusive surface is formed inside the fishing rod body.

This method can contribute to cost reduction as it employs an easymanufacturing method of simply winding tape at certain intervals inorder to form a notched/protrusive surface

Wax is applied to the mold core before forming the protrusive surface,and therefore, the wax remains on the protrusive portions of the innersurface of the rod even after removal of the mold core. This wax exertsa water-repellent effect and, at the same time, serves as sliding agentbeing positioned between the protrusive portions and the line whichtouches the protrusive portions. This results in further reduction ofthe friction resistance between the inner surface of the rod and theline.

A further preferred embodiment of the present invention provides amethod of manufacturing pass-through fishing rods by whichnotched/protrusive forming tape can be removed easily after hardening.According to this preferred embodiment, a mold releasing tape is woundbetween the mold releasing agent and the notched/protrusive formingtape, and between the notched/protrusive forming tape and the fishingrod body. By this winding, removal after hardening becomes easier, anotched/protrusive surface can be formed as expected, and there will beno increase in the friction resistance made by the line.

Still another preferred embodiment of the present invention positionsreinforcing fibers in the notched portions and protrusive portions inthe inner surface of the fishing rod so that they can fully exert theirreinforcement effect.

According to this preferred embodiment, a fishing rod body is formed bythe first layer where narrow prepreg tape, in which reinforcing fibersare placed in the circumferential direction, is placed along thecircumferential direction as well as in the axial direction at fixedintervals, and the second layer where prepreg tape, which is composed ofreinforcing fibers and resin, is placed in the axial direction withoutany intervals in order to form the inner circumferential surface of thefishing rod body into a notched/protrusive shape.

Its working and effect are as follows: Forming a notched/protrusivesurface mitigates the friction resistance made by the line at times ofwinding and unwinding. At the same time, as the reinforcing fibers ofthe first layer which forms a protrusive portion are placed in thecircumferential direction, the reinforcing fibers can exert theirreinforcement effect for the protrusive portion even if the contactpoint between the line and the protrusive portion moves in thecircumferential direction because the reinforcing fibers are stillthere. Furthermore, the aforementioned second layer has reinforcingfibers that are also placed about the mold core in the circumferentialdirection. The reinforcing fibers thus do not meander from the positionwhere they should be placed and they can fully exert their reinforcementfunction for the protrusive portions.

Yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention offers apass-through fishing rod which can maintain a basic strength as afishing rod while maintaining the advantages of the foregoingembodiment. According to this preferred embodiment, the direction of thereinforcing fibers of the prepreg is set in the aforesaid second layerat the circumferential direction as described above.

Its working and effect are as follows: As reinforcing fibers of thesecond layer, which are placed without any intervals in the axialdirection and practically form the inner-most layer, are set in thecircumferential direction, the reinforcing fibers placed in thecircumferential direction can work even if the section of the fishingrod is deformed into a oblong oval when the fishing rod is bent, and canprevent the fishing rod from breaking down by pressure.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, thereinforcing fibers of the prepreg in the second layer are set at theaxial direction, and cross fibers are inserted. The reinforcing fiberscross each other.

Its working and effect are as follows: As reinforcing fibers are appliedin the axial direction, the reinforcing fibers can work for the tensilestrength which works in the axial direction in order to maintain thestrength, and the cross fibers can slightly resist against thedeformation pressure to deform the fishing rod section into a oblongoval.

What is more, the cross fibers can restrain scattering of thereinforcing fibers in the axial direction when winding and forming thefirst layer round the mold core.

An additional preferred embodiment of the present invention provides adevice which allows the reinforcing fibers placed in the axial directionto exert their reinforcement function, while facilitating manufactureand mitigating friction resistance of the line at times of winding andunwinding. According to this preferred embodiment, mold releasing agentis applied to the mandrel; notched/protrusive forming tape is wound toform the notched portions and protrusive portions around the outercircumferential surface of the mandrel to which the mold releasing agentis applied in the axial direction of the mandrel at fixed intervals,thereby forming a mold core; the fishing rod body is formed by windingprepreg tape around the mold core as the first layer, which has the samethickness and is set at the same fixed intervals as thenotched/protrusive forming tape and which contains resin and reinforcingfibers in the circumferential direction, so that it is positioned withinthe aforesaid fixed intervals of the notched/protrusive forming tape,winding prepreg tape made from resin and reinforcing fibers set in thecircumferential direction over the first layer as the second layer andwinding prepreg comprising resin and reinforcing fibers set in the axialdirection over the second layer as the third layer. Form-maintainingtape is then wound round the outer circumferential surface of thefishing rod body. The fishing rod body is then hardened, the mandrel isremoved, the form-maintaining tape is peeled off, and thenotched/protrusive forming tape is peeled off from the fishing rod bodyin order to form the inner circumferential surface in the fishing rodbody into a notched/protrusive surface.

Its working and effect are as follows: By winding the notched/protrusiveforming tape round the mandrel in the axial direction at fixed intervalsand placing the prepreg tape as the first layer within the intervals ofthe notched/protrusive forming tape, when the notched/protrusive formingtape is removed after hardening, the prepreg tape as the first layerremains and forms a notched/protrusive surface together with the secondlayer.

The prepreg tape and the notched/protrusive forming tape are in effectwound in parallel rings without any gaps, each ring having generally thesame thickness, thus forming an even layer on the mold core. Thus, byemploying a manufacturing method to wind round the prepreg tape whichhas the same thickness as the notched/protrusive forming tape at theaforesaid fixed intervals, difference in outer level between thenotched/protrusive forming tape and prepreg tape is eliminated. Hence,the second and the third layers can be wound round the even surface.Therefore, the reinforcing fibers placed in the axial direction will notmeander from where they should be placed, and the function of thereinforcing fibers can be exerted as it is expected.

Reference will be made to FIGS. 1-12 in the following explanation ofmanufacturing processes according to the invention.

According to a preferred manufacturing procedure of the invention, wax10 is applied as a mold releasing agent to mandrel 12 as shown in FIG.1(a). The mandrel 12 is an elongated tapered shaft to define the basicshape of the subsequently produced hollow fishing rod. Polyester tape 14for mold releasing is wound over mandrel 12 closely (preferably leavingan unwrapped length at either end of mandrel 12) so that the side of arotation of tape 14 either overlaps or abuts the side of the nextrotation so that no gaps are formed between adjacent windings, as shownin FIG. 1(b). Tape 16 for notched/protrusive forming is wound in theaxial direction of the mandrel 12 at fixed intervals as shown in FIG.1(c) forming gaps between windings. The base material of this tape 16 toform a notched/protrusive surface is cloth and is required to haveflexibility to cope with the mandrel 12, thermal resistance to maintainaccuracy of the notched/protrusive surface and stretching-resistance tomaintain accuracy of the fixed intervals in the axial direction of themandrel 12. As shown in FIG. 1(d), polyester tape 18 is wound closelyover the notched/protrusive forming tape 16 so that the side of arotation of tape 18 abuts or overlaps the side of the next rotation oftape 18. By doing this, removal of notched/protrusive forming tape 16becomes easy.

The mandrel 12 wrapped by tapes 14, 16 and 18 forms a “mold core.”

Oily wax 20 then is applied to the polyester tape 18 is wound overnotched/protrusive forming tape 16 so that notched/protrusive formingtape 16 is peeled off in a good condition. This oily wax 20 is designedto remain on the inner surface of the fishing rod (equivalent to notchedportion 32 and protrusive portion 34, which will be described later),where notched/protrusive forming tape 16 has already been taken away, inorder to give a water-repellent function to the surface. By thiscondition, sheet prepreg, which is made of epoxy resin-impregnatedcarbon fibers placed in the circumferential direction, is cut in theshape of a tape and this tape is closely wound around the mold core sothat the side of a rotation of the tape contacts the side of the nextrotation to form the inner-most layer 22 as shown in FIG. 2(a). Next, aprepreg sheet 24 is wound around the layer 22, the prepreg sheet 24being a sheet of prepreg material having unidirectional fibers withepoxy resin therein, extending substantially the length of the moldcore, but wound around the entire outer diameter of the mold core sothat the fibers extend the longitudinal length of the mold core. Afterwinding prepreg sheet 24 over it to form swelling mating parts at bothfront and rear ends, a prepreg tape in which carbon fibers are placed inthe axial direction is wound closely over prepreg sheet 24 so that theside of a rotation of the tape contacts the side of the next rotation toform the second layer 26 in combination with prepreg sheet 24 as shownin FIG. 2(b). Then, a prepreg tape in which carbon fibers are placed inthe circumferential direction, and a prepreg tape in which carbon fibersare placed in the axial direction are wound to form the third and thefourth layers 28 and 30, respectively, and fishing rod body 36 composedof four layers is formed as shown in FIG. 4.

Over such fishing rod body 36, polyester tape 38 is wound asform-maintaining tape as shown in FIG. 2(d), then is hardened as shownin FIG. 3(a). The rod body can be hardened by any of a variety ofhardening means, such as exposing the layers to ultraviolet light,heating the material or adding a hardening agent. Then polyester tape 38is peeled off after hardening as shown in FIG. 3(b), andnotched/protrusive forming tape 16 is removed together with moldreleasing tape 14 and 18 as shown in FIG. 3(c). By such procedures,fishing rod body 36 which has notched portions and protrusive portions32, 34 in a spiral on its inner circumferential surface can be formedand fibers can be placed in the circumferential direction withinprotrusive portions 34.

Next, the configurations of notched portions and protrusive portions 32,34 are explained. As shown in FIG. 5, preferred dimensions of a notchedportion 32 and protrusive portion 34 are as follows: protrusive portion34's length=0.8-1.2 mm, notched portion 32's length=6.7-7.3 mm, andprotrusive portion 34's height=0.4-0.6 mm. Cross-sectional configurationof protrusive portion 34 is close to a square but trapezoid or trianglemay also be accepted. Round corners instead of acute corners may also beemployed.

As mentioned above, by forming notched portions 32 and protrusiveportions 34 on the inner circumferential surface of fishing rod body 36,the friction resistance produced at times of winding and unwinding ofthe fishing line can be reduced almost by half, preferably to 0.3-0.7 gin comparison with the ones where no notched/protrusive surface 32 and34 is formed. (Other conditions for this calculation are: the minimumdiameter and length of fishing rod body 36 are 10 mm and 360 mm,respectively, the diameter of the hard guide ring to be attached insidefishing rod body 36 is 8 mm, and the fishing line preferably is made ofpolyethylene or nylon and has diameter of 0.285 mm. Of course, othermaterials and dimensions can be selected as desired.)

Next, another manufacturing method for fishing rod body 36 is explained.In this method, after applying wax 10 to mandrel 12, notched/protrusiveforming tape 16 is directly wound over it at fixed intervals, and thenprepreg tape is wound as the first layer 22 closely so that the side ofa rotation of the tape abuts or overlaps the side of the next rotation.The cross-sectional configuration of fishing rod body in the aforesaidcase looks as FIG. 6.

By this method, manufacturing processes can be simplified as it does notneed polyester tape 14 and 18 for mold releasing.

In order to take the aforesaid manufacturing method, notched/protrusiveforming tape 16 must have good releasability by itself asnotched/protrusive forming tape 16 directly touches the first layer 22.By employing the aforesaid manufacturing method, a water-repellenteffect is given as wax 10 is applied to protrusive portions 34 made bythe first layer 22, and hydrophilicity is given to notched portions 32as surface processing is applied to notched/protrusive forming tape 16.Therefore, water, etc. can be discharged by the water-repellence effectof protrusive portions 34 which hold the line, resulting in less chancesof contacts between the line and water, and discharge of water from thenotched portions 32 can be restrained thanks to the hydrophilicity ofnotched portions 32, which also results in reduced chances of contactsbetween the line and water.

The following lamination configurations can also be applied for fishingrod body 36.

As shown in FIG. 7, prepreg in which reinforcing fibers are placed inthe circumferential direction as the first layer 22, prepreg in whichreinforcing fibers are placed in the axial direction as the second layer26, and prepreg in which reinforcing fibers are placed in thecircumferential direction as the third layer 28 are wound respectively.Here, the second layer 26 must be more than three times as thick as thefirst layer 22 and the third layer 28. By such a structure, fibers canbe placed in the circumferential direction within protrusive portions 34of the notched/protrusive surface 32, 34 formed in the inner surface ofthe first layer 22.

As shown in FIG. 8, fishing rod body 36 may be formed by putting prepreg40, in which reinforcing fibers are placed in the axial direction, inmultiple layers and inserting glass cloth 42, in which reinforcingfibers are placed in two directions, in between the layers of prepreg40. The manufacturing method in this case preferably is as follows:notched/protrusive forming tape 16 is wound at the fixed intervals roundmandrel 12 to which wax 10 has been applied, and prepreg tape 44 iswound within the intervals to make the height of the surface even. Then,glass cloth 42 is wound over it. By the presence of glass cloth 42between the layers as such, dispersion of prepreg in which reinforcingfibers are placed in the axial direction can be avoided when it is woundround.

As shown in FIG. 12 fishing rod body 36 can also be formed by placingprepreg in which reinforcing fibers are set in the circumferentialdirection as the first layer 22, forming notched portions 32 andprotrusive portions 34 on the inner surface of this first layer 22,placing prepreg in which reinforcing fibers are set in the axialdirection as the second layer 26, placing prepreg in which reinforcingfibers are set in the circumferential direction as the third layer 28,and placing prepreg in which reinforcing fibers are set in the axialdirection as the outer-most (fourth) layer 30. In this case, the firstlayer 22, the second layer 26 and the third layer 28 is set to have thesame thickness and the fourth layer 30 is wound round in several pliesso that it will be three to five times as thick as the first layer 22,and so on. By such a method, fishing rod body 36 with high bendingstrength can be formed.

The second layer 26 can be omitted from the aforesaid structure.

Other configurations of notched portions 32 and protrusive portions 34are now explained.

Notched/protrusive surface 32, 34 can be formed in a spiral as shown inFIG. 3(c). Protrusive portions 34 may be in a ring form in thisstructure. In such a case, when winding notched/protrusive forming tape16, tape 16 must be wound round each notched portion 32 to define aring.

By forming each protrusive portion 34 in the form of a ring in thecircumferential direction, protrusive portions 34 and carbon fibersplaced in the circumferential direction have the same direction.Therefore, the carbon fibers do not have to be bent as they do not crossthe switching point of the notched portions and protrusive portions.Hence, excellent strength against bending of the fishing rod can bemaintained.

Next, with reference to FIG. 9, the cross-sectional configuration ofeach protrusive portion 34 is made into a trapezoid to assure easyremoval of notched/protrusive tape 16 in order to avoid abrasion of thecorners of the protrusive portion. The inventors have investigated theeffects of interval “P” in the axial direction of protrusive portion 34of notched portions and protrusive portions 32, 34 in the ring form, andconfirmed that, even if the inner diameter of protrusive portion 34,“D”, varies from 1.0 mm, 2.0 mm, 3.0 mm to 4.0 mm, when interval “P” isless than approximately 100 mm, the friction resistance stays aroundapproximately 0.3-0.5 g, and when interval “P” is between 100 mm andaround 400 mm, there is a tendency that the friction resistance rises ata certain rate till 1.0 g.

As shown in FIG. 10, notched portions and protrusive portions 32, 34 maybe formed into tiers whose diameter is reduced as it gets closer to thefront end. In this case, as sea water, etc. brought inside the fishingrod can move to the tiers in the back without staying, the water can becollected at the rear end of the rod and discharged out.

Other working structures are now explained.

As shown in FIG. 11, articles different from notched portions 32 andprotrusive portions 34 can be attached as line holders 46, i.e., aline-inserting hole 48 and a conical guide surface 50 which guides theline to this line-inserting hole 48 are formed as line holder 46, andthis line holder 46 is set and fixed, by any desired means such as byadhesive bonding or mechanical compression, in protrusive portion 34 ofnotched portions and protrusive portions 32, 34. As line holder 46 iscontained in the notched/protrusive surface by this procedure, the lineheld by line holder 46 is maintained at a wider distance from the innersurface of the fishing rod than being held by notched portions andprotrusive portions 32, 34 contributing to further reduction of chancesof contacts between water and the line. What is more, even if the lineslacks between the two adjacent line holders 46, the aforesaidprotrusive portions 34 can support the line as this portion also has afunction to hold the line. Therefore, though it is to the lesser extentin comparison with the case of line holders 46, it can still reduce thechances for water to contact the line.

The aforesaid line holder 46 may be in the form of a ring and itsmaterial may be selected from a variety of ceramics, metals and resin.

Pertaining to the foregoing structure, some elastic deformation may beallowed for protrusive portions 34 which support line holders 46.Therefore, only by setting in line holders 46, protrusive portion 4 canhold line holders 46, and no special holding structure is required.

Not only thermosetting resins (including epoxy and phenolic resins) butalso thermoplastic resins, such as nylon, may be used for the prepreg toform the fishing rod. Also, other fibers such as boron fibers, as wellas carbon fibers, may be used as reinforcing fibers.

Thermal-contraction tape may be used as form-maintaining tape 38.

Not only wax but silicone can also be used as mold releasing agent 10.

Pertaining to the aforesaid fishing rod body 36, a through hole 52 maybe formed in fishing rod body 36 in order to discharge water out throughan internal path for the line.

What is claimed is:
 1. A pass-through fishing rod comprising a rod bodycomprised of a material made from resin and reinforcing fibers, said rodbody having an inner circumferential surface, wherein notched surfaceportions and protrusive surface portions are formed in said innercircumferential surface of said rod body, and wherein said reinforcingfibers are disposed in said protrusive surface portions in thecircumferential direction.
 2. The pass-through fishing rod of claim 1,said rod having a front end, wherein said notched surface portions andprotrusive surface portions are arranged in tiers having diameters whichdecrease as said tiers approach said front end.
 3. The pass-throughfishing rod of claim 1, said rod having a front end, wherein saidnotched surface portions and protrusive surface portions are arranged ina spiral the diameter of which decreases as said spiral approaches saidfront end.
 4. The pass-through fishing rod of claim 1 wherein saidprotrusive surface portions have square, rectangular, trapezoidal ortriangular cross-sections.
 5. The pass-through fishing rod of claim 1wherein said reinforcing fibers are carbon fibers, boron fibers ormixtures thereof.
 6. The pass-through fishing rod of claim 1 whereinsaid resin is a thermoplastic or thermosetting resin.
 7. Thepass-through fishing rod of claim 6 wherein said resin is an epoxyresin.
 8. The pass-through fishing rod of claim 1 wherein said notchedsurface portions have a length from about 0.8 to 1.2 mm and a heightfrom about 0.4 to 0.6 mm, and said protrusive surface portions have alength from about 6.7 to 7.3 mm.
 9. The pass-through fishing rod ofclaim 1 further comprising a reel and a fishing line.
 10. Thepass-through fishing rod of claim 1 further comprising a line holderdisposed within said rod.
 11. The pass-through fishing rod of claim 1wherein said reinforcing fibers are also disposed in said notchedsurface portions in the circumferential direction.
 12. A pass-throughfishing rod comprising a rod body, said rod body having a first layerand a second layer, said rod having an inner circumferential surface,wherein said first layer comprises a narrow prepreg tape containingreinforcing fibers set in the circumferential direction, said tape beingplaced along the circumferential direction as well as in the axialdirection at fixed intervals, and wherein said second layer comprisesprepreg tape made from reinforcing fibers and resin, said tape beingapplied in the axial direction with no intervals, wherein differences inlevel between said first layer and said second layer form notchedsurface portions and protrusive surface portions on the innercircumferential surface of the fishing rod.
 13. The pass-through fishingrod of claim 12 wherein the direction of the reinforcing fibers of theprepreg of said second layer is set at the circumferential direction.14. The pass-through fishing rod of claim 12 wherein the direction ofthe reinforcing fibers of the prepreg in said second layer is set at theaxial direction, said rod body further comprising cross fibers in whichreinforcing fibers cross each other inserted between the first layer andthe second layer.
 15. A pass-through fishing rod comprising a rod bodyhaving an inner circumferential surface wherein a plurality of notchedsurface portions and protrusive surface portions wherein said rod bodycomprises a thermoplastic or thermosetting resin and reinforcing fibers,and wherein said reinforcing fibers are oriented in the circumferentialdirection within said protrusive surface portions.
 16. The pass-throughfishing rod of claim 15 wherein said reinforcing fibers are alsodisposed in said notched surface portions in the circumferentialdirection.